Erwin's family moved to Pittsfield, Massachusetts when he was middle-school aged, and he lived in the Berkshires for several years after high school, as well. These were formative years, and he still adores the region, getting all swoony whenever we drive through the area. Monument Mountain was "his mountain," the one he climbed 30 or 40 times, in all seasons, in all conditions. I have heard many, many stories about this place. When I looked it up and realized it was only a 3 hour drive, and that it's a fairly short trail to the top, I decided we should make a day trip there and see what it's all about. Erwin could play tour guide and show us his mountain.
The Berkhire Mountains are essentially a continuation of Vermont's Green Mountains, and at the far southern extent of the range, the mountains are smaller. Because this is a short, relatively easy trail just south of Lenox, which is super busy, touristy area, we decided we would go on a Wednesday in hopes of finding less crowded trails. When we arrived, Erwin was horrified by the parking lot, with its trailhead signs, picnic tables, and pay station. Apparently when he frequented the place, there was none of that: just a roadside pulloff. The lot was quite full, but we found a spot. I think many people may have just been picnicking, though, as we didn't meet that many hikers on the trail.
The Hickey Trail starts off through pine trees, soft underfoot with easy grades, but of course that doesn't last long.
There is an interesting talus slope of big boulders, covered with ferns.
After getting too many mosquito bites hiking in shorts at Beaver Lake this past weekend, Frankie and I were both wearing pants. However, it was extremely hot and muggy, and I was struggling with heat-induced nausea. I finally decided the pants weren't worth the protection, so we unzipped into shorts and began to feel better. A lovely stream flowing through hemlocks offered an opportunity to cool off by splashing water from a little pool.
With all the rain, there were a lot of mosquitos, so we did get bit, especially me (I am a mosquito magnet). There were also a lot of colorful mushrooms.
An even better opportunity for cooling came a short distance up the trail. We all took our packs off and stuck our heads into the water. Very refreshing! The trail finally got a little steeper after that, but after playing in the water, we were ready for it.
Once we reached the Inscription Rock and the intersection with the Squaw Peak Trail, it was just a short distance of fun climbing to the summit ridge.
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| pitch pine (Pinus rigida) |
Erwin led us past all the rocky ledges that, to Frankie looked like good places to stop and eat Pringles, telling us that there was a better spot further down the ridge. We would go to the Devil's Pulpit overlook for our snack. What a fabulous spot!
After snacking and taking lots of pictures, we started back along the ridge the way we came. I kind of wanted to make more of a loop, but deferred to Erwin's ownership of the site. The ridge was super charming anyway, different ecologically than the Adirondack summits. Here there is pitch pine and mountain laurel, huckleberry and blueberry. Frankie discovered a great appreciation for wintergreen.
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| stolen summit marker? |
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| golden spindles (Clavaria fusiformis) |
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| of course we stopped to cool off again on the way down |
Our post-hike adventures continued with a driving tour to see Erwin's old house and apartment, places of employment, the country club his folks belonged to, etc. We also stopped in Pittsfield for dinner before driving home, and really enjoyed our meal at District (the bread and the summer succotash were especially amazing). After all those stops, we got home quite late for a work night, but it was totally worth it! I love a good day trip.
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